are access point as good as mesh at handoff?

[pauljbl]

Do the r600 r510 r610 work as well and would they all work together for roaming if different models together?
Do they need to be same models for the inbuilt controller firmware to all work together?

 

[Trip]

You can mix and match any models that will run Unleashed, but you have to run a controller version that supports all APs in the same Master/Slave group. This means that your bound by the last version for the longest EOL'd AP, which will still (hopefully) works on the newest model(s) you have. In this case, that would be the R500, which means version 200.7.10.102.64 is what you'd have to run on all APs, even though the R510/R610 have newer versions available. As long as your oldest and newest models aren't too many generations apart from one another, it should be fairly easy to find a firmware sub-version that runs well enough on both. Hope that makes sense.

As far as the R6__ versus R5__ models, the 6's have 3x3 stream radios and the 5's have 2x2. That's it; everything else is identical: effective range, number of clients supported, receiving sensitivity, interference mitigation, etc. Typically more bang for your buck with the R5__ stuff, just because most clients out in the real world are 2x2 at the most, unless you have some actual stuff that is 3x3 and would benefit from the bit of extra bandwidth.

 

[pauljbl]

OK I understand.

What do you think of Aruba instant compared to the ruckus

 

[Trip]

I personally prefer Ruckus because I think their radio's are more effective (all other specs being held equal), and I want the best physical connection for my clients possible. That being said, Aruba has a more slick software and more complete ecosystem around that, plus better integration with their switching, but the software differences are that huge and if you already have other switching in place and don't mind managing that separately from your wifi, then for me it's Ruckus all day long.

 

[pauljbl]

Is the roaming implementation better on the ruckus over the aruba

 

[Trip]

I would say they're both just about equal, with perhaps Ruckus offering every so slightly cleaner roam events, especially at higher density, due to the radio tech advantage (and less so because of software). But at this point, I'm starting to postulate, so I would really research that if you feel so inclined.

 

[pauljbl]

Is there much difference between the r500 and r510 ruckus?

 

[Trip]

Here's the Ruckus product guide from 2017 with both the R500 and R510 on it:
http://habitech.s3.amazonaws.com/PDFs/RUC/RUC-R610/ruckus-product-guide.pdf

In a nutshell, the R510 has roughly -4 dB more receive sensitivity, so it's ever so slightly better at receiving weak/flaky signals (ie. most mobile devices), plus it's AC Wave 2, so it supports MU-MIMO, which, presuming the endpoints support it, too, would help with airtime utilization, especially at higher client load numbers.

 

[pauljbl]

What ruckus models do you use?

 

[Trip]

You'll probably find this funny, but at home, I personally use N-class 7982's and an outdoor 7782 with a ZD1100 controller. (I don't need, nor do I care about, lots of bandwidth there, so I'm not even running AC stuff, yet). The setup has worked perfectly in every way I could have ever hoped for years now. Mesh, seamless roaming and ridiculous range. And I've never had to reset anything. Ever.

If you use the AC wave 1 and/or wave 2 radios, you'll get everything above, plus higher bandwidth, more native band-steering and even better airtime optimization. Either with a ZD1200, a vSZ virtual controller or running Unleashed.

 

[pauljbl]

Do the controllers need licenses or can they be ran without?

 

[Trip]

The hardware controllers do come with a base amount of APs included, beyond which one licenses per extra AP is required. With the ZD1200 (the current entry-level hardware controller), the included count is five APs. With the ZD1100 they allowed 6, but the 1100 has been EOL for some time now, so unless you're really strapped for savings, if go 1200, or just but all AC Wave 2 APs, save the controller cost altogether and run Unleashed.

 

[pauljbl]

Does the zd1100 have to be used for the older ap and the zd1200 for the r500 up

 

[Trip]

Well, no and yes. I'll explain. Both controllers run the same ZoneDirector code base, and the numeric firmware version they're able to run often overlaps, due to backwards compatibility by newer controllers (for migration purposes, among other reasons). The 1100 was actively supported during the 8.x and 9.x released; the 1200 during mid-to-late 9.x up to current-day 10.x. So you can see they've been able to support the same APs, up until the 1100 went EOL and support for 10.x exclusively went to the 1200, which now can run certain APs exclusive to that firmware sub-version and forward, such as the R520 and R620. The 1100 is still a solid deal used, and can still support a fair amount of APs, including the R710/610/510 series, on the last firmware released for it (9.10.2.0.73). It goes without saying, must do your due diligence beforehand and make sure the AP(s) of interest are supported by whatever code base can be run on the controller you're looking to buy.

 

[pauljbl]

Have you setup many r500 and did they run well?

So the 1100 would be fine for r500?

 

[Trip]

I've used R500's a handful of times running ZoneFlex with a ZD1100 and also Unleashed with no controller, and they've run well in both scenarios.

The 1100 would be fine for the R500 with the last release, version 9.10.2.0.73.

If you have a lot more questions about your own build-out, you may want to start your own thread.

 

[pauljbl]

I do have one more question if you don't mind. I have been trying to find out if the unleashed supports 802.11v. Can see it was supported with zoneflex as smartroam+ but cannot see it for unleashed. I know unleashed has smartroam but different from smartroam+. Don't know if you know?

 

[Trip]

No problem. Basic smartroam is implemented in Unleashed and is on by default, and can be checked for in the basic CLI that is available by SSH'ing into the Master AP, but fine-tuned control over SmartRoam via in the control panel and/or the presence of SmartRoam+ is something I believe is only present in ZoneFlex, for which you'd need to run a ZD1100 or 1200 for.

I noticed you posted these very questions in the support forum here:
https://forums.ruckuswireless.com/r...nd-802-11v-for-best-iphone-roaming-experience
While I think my assessment is correct, I would likely wait for confirmation from a forum veteran or Ruckus employee in that thread.

 

[coxhaus]

So what is the difference between smartroam and smartroam+?

 

[pauljbl]

As I understand smartroam uses the rssi of the client and if it gets too low it will disassociate the client.

Smartroam+ uses 802.11v information for surrounding APS and will try to disassociate you if it finds a stronger ap nearby.